Why I Do What I Do
My Journey
I didn't start out as a regenerative agronomist.
Like many advisers, I learnt conventional agronomy and spent years working within a high-input system. It was effective, but I increasingly found myself asking why farming seemed to need ever more intervention just to stand still.
My background in ecology led me to look beyond individual products and begin asking bigger questions about how farming systems function.
That journey introduced me to regenerative agriculture, soil biology and eventually systems thinking.
Along the way I've changed my mind more than once.
I no longer believe conventional farming has all the answers.
Nor do I believe regenerative agriculture does either.
Today I see both as sources of valuable ideas.
My job isn't to promote a particular farming philosophy.
It's to help farmers understand their own systems, solve complex problems and build businesses that are more resilient, more profitable and less dependent on unnecessary intervention.
What I Believe
I believe healthy soils are the foundation of resilient farming.
I believe nature provides the blueprint and science helps us understand why.
I believe there are very few good or bad farming practices—only practices that are more or less appropriate for a particular place, time and objective.
I believe good agronomy should build resilience rather than dependency.
